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" When the bosses of some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies headed to Washington in January to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, it had all the makings of a potentially hostile meeting.
Just weeks before, Trump had sent drug stock prices plummeting after accusing the companies of "getting away with murder" by charging too much for medicines.
But the Trump who greeted chief executives of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), Novartis (NOVN.S), Merck (MRK.N), Eli Lilly (LLY.N), Celgene (CELG.O) and Amgen (AMGN.O) on Jan. 31 was a surprisingly genial host who even gave them a personal tour of the Oval Office, according to several participants in the breakfast.
“There is no question that it was better than it could have been or we thought it could be," said one industry insider familiar with the meeting.
Trump did not repeat his public attacks on the industry. Instead, he focused on "outdated" regulations that drive costs up for drugmakers, according to participants interviewed by Reuters. The CEOs left with Trump's word that he would streamline regulations and reform the high U.S. corporate tax rate.
Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has held at least nine meetings with groups of business leaders, including automakers, airlines, retailers and health insurers.
In early morning or late-night tweets and in speeches, Trump has lambasted many of these companies for cost over-runs, or high prices, or foreign manufacturing, often knocking down their share prices. "
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-companies-insight-idUSKBN16F18M
Just weeks before, Trump had sent drug stock prices plummeting after accusing the companies of "getting away with murder" by charging too much for medicines.
But the Trump who greeted chief executives of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), Novartis (NOVN.S), Merck (MRK.N), Eli Lilly (LLY.N), Celgene (CELG.O) and Amgen (AMGN.O) on Jan. 31 was a surprisingly genial host who even gave them a personal tour of the Oval Office, according to several participants in the breakfast.
“There is no question that it was better than it could have been or we thought it could be," said one industry insider familiar with the meeting.
Trump did not repeat his public attacks on the industry. Instead, he focused on "outdated" regulations that drive costs up for drugmakers, according to participants interviewed by Reuters. The CEOs left with Trump's word that he would streamline regulations and reform the high U.S. corporate tax rate.
Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has held at least nine meetings with groups of business leaders, including automakers, airlines, retailers and health insurers.
In early morning or late-night tweets and in speeches, Trump has lambasted many of these companies for cost over-runs, or high prices, or foreign manufacturing, often knocking down their share prices. "
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-companies-insight-idUSKBN16F18M